BACKGROUND. The effects of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy remain relatively unknown. We present a case of second trimester pregnancy with symptomatic COVID-19 complicated by severe preeclampsia and placental abruption. METHODS.We analyzed the placenta for the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through molecular and immunohistochemical assays and by and electron microscopy and measured the maternal antibody response in the blood to this infection.RESULTS. SARS-CoV-2 localized predominantly to syncytiotrophoblast cells at the materno-fetal interface of the placenta. Histological examination of the placenta revealed a dense macrophage infiltrate, but no evidence for the vasculopathy typically associated with preeclampsia.CONCLUSION. This case demonstrates SARS-CoV-2 invasion of the placenta, highlighting the potential for severe morbidity among pregnant women with COVID-19. FUNDING.Beatrice Kleinberg Neuwirth Fund and Fast Grant Emergent Ventures funding from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The funding bodies did not have roles in the design of the study or data collection, analysis, and interpretation and played no role in writing the manuscript.

Background. The effects of Covid-19 in pregnancy remain relatively unknown. We present a case of second trimester pregnancy with symptomatic Covid-19 complicated by severe preeclampsia and placental abruption.Methods. We analyzed placenta for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 through molecular and immunohistochemical assays and by and electron microscopy, and we measured the maternal antibody response in blood to this infection.Results. SARS-CoV-2 localized predominantly to syncytiotrophoblast cells at the maternal-fetal interface of the placenta. Histological examination of the placenta revealed a dense macrophage infiltrate, but no evidence for vasculopathy typically associated with preeclampsia.Conclusion. This case demonstrates, for the first time, SARS-CoV-2 invasion of the placenta, highlighting the potential for severe morbidity among pregnant women with Covid-19.

Objectives: Not all labor and delivery floors are equipped with ultrasound machines which can serve the needs of both obstetricians and anesthesiologists. This cross-sectional, blinded, randomized observational study compares the image resolution (RES), detail (DET), and quality (IQ) acquired by a handheld ultrasound, the Butterfly iQ, and a mid-range mobile device, the Sonosite M-turbo US (SU), to evaluate their use as a shared resource.  Methods: Seventy-four pairs of ultrasound images were obtained for different imaging purposes: 29 for spine (Sp), 15 for transversus abdominis plane (TAP) and 30 for diagnostic obstetrics (OB) purposes. Each location was scanned by both the handheld and mid-range machine, resulting in 148 images. The images were graded by three blinded experienced sonographers on a 10-point Likert scale.  Results: The mean difference for Sp imaging favored the handheld device (RES: -0.6 [(95% CI -1.1, -0.1), p = 0.017], DET: -0.8 [(95% CI -1.2, -0.3), p = 0.001] and IQ: -0.9 [95% CI-1.3, -0.4, p = 0.001]). For the TAP images, there was no statistical difference in RES or IQ, but DET was favored in the handheld device (-0.8 [(95% CI-1.2, -0.5), p < 0.001]). For OB images, the SU was favored over the handheld device with RES, DET and IQ with mean differences of 1.7 [(95% CI 1.2, 2.1), p < 0.001], 1.6 [(95% CI 1.2, 2.0], p < 0.001] and 1.1 [(95% CI 0.7, 1.5]), p < 0.001), respectively.  Conclusions: Where resources are limited, a handheld ultrasound may be considered as a potential low-cost alternative to a more expensive ultrasound machine for point of care ultrasonography, better suited to anesthetic vs. diagnostic obstetrical indications.

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A 35-year-old parturient with antiphospholipid syndrome and a working diagnosis of hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme, and low platelets (HELLP) underwent a cesarean delivery 9 hours after receiving heparin. Her preoperative activated partial thromboplastin time and rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) intrinsic pathway (INTEM) clotting time were 120 and 1870 seconds, respectively. Fresh frozen plasma was administered for heparin neutralization. The ROTEM INTEM/heparinase assay (HEPTEM) ratio can help confirm heparin neutralization and guide intraoperative transfusion management.